Vizianagaram local body polls see women take the political baton
Women from established political families are set to contest Vizianagaram local body polls as senior leaders pass the baton to their daughters and spouses.
A wave of women candidates is expected in the coming local body elections in Vizianagaram, with several political families that have shaped the district's public life for three decades preparing to field women in their place.
Among the most prominent is Botcha Anusha, a doctor and daughter of YSRCP senior leader and State Legislative Council Opposition leader Botcha Satyanarayana. She has been attending party review meetings held in Garividi, Cheepurupalli, Vizianagaram and other places, and recently led an agitation over an alleged scam in the teachers' recruitment drive.
Former Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and YSRCP leader Kolagatla Sravani has signalled her interest in the Mayor's post should the Vizianagaram Municipal Corporation fall under the general category for reservations. She has earlier served as Deputy Mayor of the corporation.
From the TDP camp, Zilla Parishad chairman Majji Srinivasa Rao, who joined the party recently, has been encouraging his daughter Majji Siri Sahasra to enter the fray. Ms. Sahasra, who runs service activities under the name 'Chinna Srinu soldiers', recently met Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu along with her father.
In the Jana Sena Party, Dr. Avanapu Bhavana, wife of senior leader Avanapu Vikram and daughter of former Urban Bank chairperson Kalla Gowri Shankar, is keen to contest if the party gives her the opportunity. A regular participant in JSP activities, she earlier served as chairperson of the Vizianagaram Marketing Committee during the YSRCP tenure.
The trend points to a wider generational shift in the district's politics, with established leaders opting to bring women from their families into electoral contest ahead of the municipal and parishad polls.